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The Philadelphians In Concert on WRTI: Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla Conducts Mozart and Mahler

Frans Jansen
Maestra Mirga Graznyte-Tyla

Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla is a fast-rising star in the classical music world, and her debut performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra back in February of 2018 was highlighted by a revelatory reading of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. We're pleased to rebroadcast this concert on Sunday, December 12th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, December 13th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2. 

Mirga is music director of one of the UK’s major orchestras: the City of Birmingham Symphony. Here she's joined by the pianist who made his Orchestra debut 72 years ago, Menahem Pressler, in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23.

PO_BM_180325_Brugger.mp3
Listen to WRTI's Bliss Michelson speak with soprano Janai Brugger in 2018.

Following intermission, soprano Janai Brugger joined the Philadelphians for a performance of the Symphony No. 4 by Gustav Mahler, the sunniest and lightest of his symphonic creations.

Following in the footsteps of Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo, and Andris Nelsons at Birmingham, Ms. Gražinyte-Tyla has electrified audiences all over the world.

Pianist Menahem Pressler fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and emigrated to Palestine. He won first prize at the Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco in 1946, followed by his American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Eugene Ormandy.

Menahem Pressler, now 97 years old, is the founding member and pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, and among the world’s most distinguished and honored musicians.

Mahler’s 4th symphony has a crucial last-movement role for soprano, and young Chicago native Janai Brugger, a rising star herself on both the opera and concert stages around the world, will be onstage for this Philadelphia performance.

During intermission, WRTI’s Susan Lewis chatted backstage with Maestra Gražinyte-Tyla, and Bliss Michelson sat down for a talk with Ms. Brugger.

It’s hard to top Mozart and Mahler, so I hope you’ll join me for this 2018 Philadelphia Orchestra re-broadcast!

PROGRAM:

Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23

     Menahem Pressler, piano

INTERMISSION

Mahler: Symphony No. 4

     Janai Brugger, soprano

The Philadelphia Orchestra

     Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, conductor

Gregg Whiteside is producer and host of The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts, every Sunday at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, streaming online at WRTI.org, and on our mobile app! Listen again on Mondays at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2. 

Listen for up to two weeks after broadcast on WRTI Replay.

Gregg was the host of WRTI's morning drive show from 2012 until his retirement from WRTI in January, 2021. He began producing and hosting The Philadelphia Orchestra In Concert broadcasts in 2013, joining the Orchestra in Hong Kong for the first-ever live international radio broadcasts from that island in 2016, and in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for two historic broadcasts in 2018. You can still hear Gregg as host of the Orchestra broadcasts every Sunday and Monday on WRTI.